Portrait of a 15-Month-Old

My darling Abigail! You are such a kind, unique, independent soul; I hardly know where to begin.

She vacuums with me on cleaning day. Such a good helper!

 

You have such a potent imagination! The store-bought toys sit untouched most of the time, cast aside for the unlimited possibilities of a wicker basket filled with canning lids, or perhaps a wooden spoon and soup pot. Measuring spoons, TV remotes, a cardboard box, a scarf, my hat, a water bottle, the purple box from our wedding favors- these items are you favorites! Even the rare television show isn’t enough to hold your interest, though you do love to dance to the Leave it to Beaver theme song. A favorite pastime is to take a big gulp of water, let it dribble onto the kitchen floor, then spread it out with your hands (but you are kind enough to then clean it up when I hand you a dry cloth. Thank you!) I long to know what goes through your mind as you tinker about, moving items from one to container to another, stirring a pot of ‘soup’, or intently wiping the table with a cloth.

 Music has always been a part of you, from soothing Simon & Garfunkel and You Are My Sunshine in your early colicky days, to Do Re Mi and Mr. Fancy Pants now. You love playing on the piano and helping Papa strum the guitar. Sometimes you even press your cheek against the guitar to feel the vibrations. You love to clap along with the audience after a live performance track, and bounce excitedly to particularly heavy drum beats. You love to hum, and try to snap with Mary Poppins in A Spoonful of Sugar. Music has always affected you, and I love that you particularly enjoy 40s music! Sing Sing Sing gets you clapping and bouncing, and Paper Doll makes you smile and sway. No Barney for this gal. :)

You are strong-willed and independent. You prefer to turn the pages of books yourself and to comb your own hair (or at least try!), and even try to buckle yourself into the car seat, getting irritated when I have to do it for you. You get frustrated easily when unable to accomplish a task, but will keep on trying anyway until you succeed. Orrr you will throw the object across the room and move on to something better! If you don’t want a bath, ain’t nobody going to make you take one! You refuse to sleep until you are good and ready, and greatly dislike the interruption of diaper changes. You are definitely a girl with a mind of her own!

It's crazy to see my daughter playing with the same exact toy I had when I was her age. Thanks for hanging on to it, Mom!

You refuse to be spoon-fed, opting instead for real food that can be picked up instead of purees- big bites of banana, bits of apple, raisins, cheddar cheese, roast chicken. No applesauce or mashed peas for you! Your palate is also quite unusual; you prefer chili, salty potatoes, green smoothies, molasses cookies, and sourdough toast with tomato basil jam, though you definitely do not like eggs or sweet potatoes (weirdo). Stacy’s garlic and thyme pita chips are a favorite treat. You even love your cod liver oil and elderberry syrup! However, despite your love of strange foods, you still prefer breast milk above all else. Even at 15 months, you are exclusively breastfed. Food is still just an exploration of texture and flavor for you, and that is okay. You know what you want and I respect that. It wouldn’t hurt you to give mama a little bit of break though… :)

"Oh hello Kenzie, would you like to read this book? Here you go!"

 You are so kind and affectionate. You always share your toys, both independently and when asked. You love bringing things to papa and I, like spatulas and stuffed animals. You will even bring us our cell phone if you find it! You love to crawl into our laps with a book, or sit on our head when we lie on the floor. :) You are very generous with hugs and kisses, and hate when either one of us leaves the room, even for a moment. Above all else, you LOVE to be held. I think you would spend all day in my arms if allowed. You will sometimes drag over the baby carrier and request that I wear you. Everyone says that once a baby starts walking, they will always be on the move and not want to be held anymore. Not you! Sure, you definitely have a blast running around the house, sometimes laughing like a maniac! You had quite the time running up and down the aisles at Kohl’s the other day, and have recently discovered how to climb the ledge on the bathtub. You simply know the awesomeness of a good hug and the warm embrace of mama’s arms, and I absolutely love that about you.

This is getting pretty long, as there is so much to say about you! But I shall try to wrap it up. It’s the little things that really get me, that I want to remember. Your groggy, half-opened eyes when you just wake up. The way you clearly nod your head when wanting to say yes. How you created your own sign for wanting to nurse, and use it often. :) That you walk right over and try to open the freezer when you want a teether. The way you will spontaneously point to the Jesus or Mary statue, and smile when we start to pray. How you’ll give that Jesus statue a hug and be sad when we take it away. I love that particular high pitched giggle-squeal you let out when chasing after the cats, and how you are (usually) so gentle with them, even when trying to pick them up. I adore the way you squidge up your face when declining to taste something. You hate having your hair washed. You love to play with the red cup in the bath, filling it up and pouring it out over and over. You lift up your legs for me when I put on your pants. You’ll excitedly pull up your shirt whenever tummy, belly, or bellybutton is mentioned, then promptly want to do the same to us. :) You love to scribble in a notebook, just like mama, and to be held for a long while when waking up from a nap, just papa did when he was little. You get a kick out of watching the chickens, and love to watch the blender and food processor at work. I love the way you inhale sharply but excitedly when a strong wind blows across your face, tucking your face into our shoulder, and how you manage to turn practically all the way around in the grocery cart (despite being buckled in), preferring to face the world head on instead of going backwards. You are way too smart for me, little one. Just now, I looked down to see you trying to trim your nails with the fingernail clipper- now just when did you figure that out?! (and where did you get the clippers…)

And lastly, two of my favorites: how when you wake up in the morning, you will wobble-crawl over to me and lay your head on my pillow, then roll over and push your little body into mine. And how sometimes you will gently hold my face in your hands and just gaze into my eyes, then nuzzle into my neck. I love you, too, baby girl. More than you will ever know.